Improvement in fare-boxes



UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY BARANGER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN FARE-BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,669, dated July 8, 1873; application filed January 6, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY BARANGER, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain Improvements in Fare-Boxes, of which the following is a specification: i

My invention relates to an improved method of lighting car fare-boxes from the outside by means of a lamp in a lamp-box having no connection with and wholly detached from said fare-box; and is designed especially to be used in connection with the improved farebox for which I made application for Letters Patent of the United States on the 22d day of October, 1872, which fare-box is divided by a tilting platform into two compartments, with glass Walls, and so constructed that each fare will be held in the upper compartment for inspection until another fare is putin, and will then be automatically thrown down into the lower compartment, and be there detained subject to further inspection before being dropped into the drawer; and it consists in the combination and arrangement, with a farebox so constructed and operating, of a lamp in the upper part of the car, wholly detached from the fare-box, and a reflector in such manner as to reflect the light of the lamp upon and through the glass walls of said box into both of said compartments, as hereinafter more particularly described.

It has been found objectionable, in practice, to use a lamp inside of or connected with the fare-box, for the reason that the smoke and grease from the lamp deface the glass and other parts of the box, not only rendering the box unsightly, but obstructing the glass to such an extent as to render frequent cleaning necessary, which is troublesome, and can only be done by partiallyr taking the box to pieces. Attempts have been made, by the employment of reilectors, to throw the light from the headlamp down through the top of the fare-box; but this is impracticable in most cases without altering the construction of the boxes, and is utterly so in the case of my improved fare-box, above referred to, without changing it to such an extent as to seriously impair its utility. Attempts have also been made to utilize the light of the head-lamp for this purpose by reflecting it into the box by means of a series of reilectors; but in this case the amount of light is so reduced by absorption, and the rays are so diffused, that suflicient light is not furnished to illuminate the fares in the box, and enable the driver to see to make change; besides, in both ofthe cases referred to the fare-box has been connected directly to the lamp-box, or has communication with it by means of tubes or passages, which serve to convey the smoke and grease to the fare-boxes, giving rise to objections which I entirely avoid.

In the drawing, Figure l represents a view of one end of a car, showing one modification of my invention 5 and Fig. 2, a similar view, showing another modification.

A represents the end of the car, and B the fare-box. O represents the head-lamp box, and D the head-lamp. E represents the additional lamp for lighting the fare-box, and O, Fig. 2, the additional lamp-box, in case it is used. F is an ordinary concave reflector, of suitable size, secured to the side of the lampbox, and so constructed that when in place its focus will be at or about the central portion of the fare-box B, so as to light both compartments thereof. G is an opening in the bottom of the lamp-box, covered with a sheet of glass, through which the reflected rays pass to the fare-box; or the entire bottom of the lamp-V box may be constructed of glass, and said opening dispensed with.

As it is desirable that the upper compartment of the fare-box be especially Well lighted, I prefer to so arrange the reector that its focus will be at or about the point b, in which case sufficient rays will be thrown below the tilting platform to light the lower compartment also; and for this purpose the reflector should be so constructed as to prevent a perfect concentration of the rays at one point.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with a fare-boxv with glass walls, and divided into two compartments by a tilting platform, as described, the lamps D and E, or either of them, and reflector F, so arranged that the said reiiector will throw the rays of light from the lamp or lamps into both of said compartments through the glass walls thereof.

HENRY BARANGER.

Witnesses J. F. CHAPMAN, FRITZ LUNDBEGK. 

